The VDM talked to Dr Amy Crees - a medical registrar working as part of the team providing the Ask The Medical Reg service. Her job pre-COVID was working as a geriatrics registrar on Gate 28A.
Why was Ask The Medical Reg developed?
I was advised to avoid patient-facing clinical work for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic on account of having type 1 diabetes. A group of senior medical registrars and consultants who were in a similar situation were starting to develop a service to provide medical advice remotely, and I joined this group. We were keen to contribute to the considerable efforts made by NBT staff to provide safe care for patients in the face of unprecedented demand. We needed to find a way that we could do this whilst minimising the risk to ourselves.
What services does ATMR provide?
Our “portfolio” of work has expanded considerably since we started! The mainstay of our work is a 24/7 service for medical advice via the telephone or email (the latter for less urgent queries). This is provided to doctors within NBT, as well as GPs and paramedics in the community. Other jobs include calling patients who have been discharged with their COVID swab results, chasing the results of outpatient investigations requested by ward teams, and providing follow-up phone calls for patients felt to be at high risk on discharge.
Who is in the team?
Clinical advice is provided by two consultants (Katie Rainey and Zoe Jones) and four registrars (James Dodds, Sarah Ibitoye, Andrea Joughin, and me). Sam Burrows, an F2 doctor, has been collecting and analysing our data, and is in the process of writing a service evaluation. Claire Asby, a clinical fellow, has recently joined us to help with the COVID swab calls.
Challenges
It has felt very strange not to be seeing patients or working as part of a big multidisciplinary team on the wards, and these are the aspects of my normal job which I really enjoyed. I will admit that spending most of the day in an office has taken some adjustment! I initially also felt quite guilty that I wasn’t working on the “front line”. A lot of this has been mitigated by the fact that the teamwork within ATMR has been positive and constructive, and I feel we are making a strong contribution to the Trust’s efforts – however, I really don’t think anyone should feel guilty if they are unable to do their normal job for reasons out of their control. As a bonus I’ve developed new skills such as telephone consulting and video conferencing.
Favourite lockdown recipe or snack?
Aldi Moser-Roth seasalt dark chocolate
Favourite social distancing activity
Attempting family Zoom calls with my toddler
What one book, TV programme or film would you recommend to Junior Drs?
My attention span for these activities has dwindled of late, but I agree with Emma Lishman in an earlier blog – Tiger King was so shocking that I managed to forget about coronavirus for a bit!
How can I contact Ask The Medical Reg?
The simplest method is probably to ask switchboard to put you through. Extensions 42452 and 42464 are manned 8 – 8 on weekdays and some weekends, but the service is 24/7 and there will always be a mobile available via switch. For less urgent questions our email is askthemedicalreg@nbt.nhs.uk
Dr Amy Crees
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